Substance use among Iranian university students

Abstract

Little is known about the epidemology of substance use in the Iranian population in general or among university students in particular (Coleman et al., 1997). A recent study showed that 26% of Iranian men and 3.8% of women were cigarette smokers (Ahmadi, Khalili, Jooybar, Namazi and Mohammadaghaei, 1999). Other studies have found that the opium dependency rate was 0.07 per capita, and the rate of registered opium addicts was 0.01 per capita in a rural population of the northern part of Iran (Alemi, 1978). In Iran, there is a centuries-old tradition of opium use for treating mental disorders as well as for pleasure and social purposes. Studies among students have shown that 24% of college students used substance at some time in their lives, with hashish the most frequently used substance (Merchant, Pournadeali, Zimmer and Ronaghy, 1976). A more recent study assessing substance dependency among senior high school students, found that 14% of boys reported currently using tobacco, and that 5.7% reported current use of other substances (Moosavi, 2000). Considering drug policy in Iran, it should be noted that individuals may be arrested for having or using illegal substances, including alcohol, cannabis, opioids, cocaine and hallucinogens.